How to Maintain Your Guitar - Part 2

Performer and Guitar Teacher Steve Falter speaks with Luthier Peter Taylor of Chellee Guitars about common maintenance and repair issues for guitars. Part 1 – Intro, Set up, Frets *Part 2 – Strings, Cleaning, Electronics, Routine Maintenance Tips, Tuning Issues, Shipping Your Guitar* Part 3 – Typical Repairs, Modifications, Recovering a Stolen Guitar Peter can reached through his web site at *Chellee Guitars [1]*.  [1]

So you own a guitar and you notice the sound has changed or you hear some "buzzing" when you play. Maybe It just doesn't feel the same when you fret your strings or your electronics are making a strange noise (or no sound at all)! What's up with that?


Dating the Battery

I found the dating of the battery tip to be very helpful! I would never have thought of it myself. Thanks!

Glad that helped!

Always remember to carry spare, fresh batteries with your gear.

String Changing

Hi, Steve.

Another great interview!

I had a question. How do I know when my strings need to be changed? Is there a particular time period after which the strings "expire" so to say?


RE: String Changing


It's hard to say exactly when your guitar strings need to be changed. There's no specific "expiry date". It depends upon a number of factors, including how often you play, whether you clean it down after playing, how and where you store it, how rough is your style of playing, etc.

A general interval between string changes is from one to three months, depending on the above factors. Some professionals also change the strings prior to every performance of theirs.

You'll know when it's time to re-string your guitar when:

  • the strings start sounding dull,
  • they become stained or rusted,
  • they become hard to tune,
  • when the pitch doesn't stay true as you go down the neck, and finally
  • if it's been several months (sometimes, years) since you've last played the guitar.

Lastly, don't forget to loosen the strings if you plan to keep the guitar in storage for an extended period of time.